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ONP visitations dropped 24 percent during federal shutdown

March 3rd, 2014 - 2:39pm

SEATTLE (AP) - A new report by the National Park Service says average visitation to Olympic National Park dipped 24 percent during the government shutdown last October.

The report released Monday says the shutdown resulted in a loss of about $3.4 million in visitor spending in surrounding communities. The analysis shows about 42,000 fewer visitors last October than the previous three-year October average.

A separate park service report says 7.5 million people who visited national park lands in Washington state spent a total of about $419 million in 2012.

At Olympic National Park, about 2.8 million visitors spent $220 million in lodging, food, camping fees and other areas. The spending supported about 5,100 jobs in communities surrounding the parks.

Just over one million visited Mount Rainier National Park and spent nearly $37 million in surrounding areas.